Lian Li PC-A61 Review

[section_title title=”Closer Look – Interior”]Closer Look – Interior

Upon opening the side panel of the Lian Li PC-A61, we are greeted with the full aluminium interior; there is a black interior version which comes at an extra cost but also includes a side window.  The side panel has a sliding mechanism which is traditional on the majority of cases and is held in place with 2 x thumb screws.  This opens up the interior allows us to take a closer look inside.

Taking a closer look inside the PC-A61 chassis, we have a few notable features.  First I applaud the inclusion of rubber grommets because let’s face, I’m a fan boy for the little bits of rubber!  Next we have a 4 x 5.25″ bay which allows you to not only install media drives such as Blu-Ray and DVD-RW, but this also includes bay mount pump/res combos for all those water coolers at heart.  Yes the PC-A61 supports water cooling with support for 1 x 240/280mm radiator in the top and enough room to accommodate 1 x 240/360mm radiator in the front; to mount anything in the front you would have to remove the HDD bays.

As mentioned, the top section of the case can hold a 240mm or 280mm radiator which also means that either 2 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm fans are supported; to follow the laws of thermodynamics, it is best using fans placed here as exhausts.

In the bottom right hand side of the chassis, we have the HDD bays.  Now there are 6 x 3.5″ bays but adapters can be used to narrow them down to 2.5″ for smaller HDDs or SSDs; SSDs are more favourable nowadays so it’s nice to have support for both.  The HDD bays are split into 2 sections and can both be removed for those wanting to water cool or simply make more space available.

Next up are the 7 x PCI aluminium blanking plates which come installed into the PC-A61.  These are held in place with silver thumbscrews and I have to say, these blanking plates not only look premium but feel a million dollars (or pounds!).

Here is a closer look at the 5.25″ media drive bays; very nice and much better than steel ones!  There is also enough room for anything else you may want to fit there including front panel devices such as fan controllers.